De-centring Shiʿi Islam

Morgan Clarke & Mirjam Künkler, De-centring Shiʿi Islam, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 45, Iss. 1, 2018 part of an issue on Shiʿi Islam

Are Shia Militias Jihadist?

Daniel Gerlach, Zenith, Are Shia Militias Jihadist?, 20 Dec 2017 "The ideology of resistance is a distinct feature of powerful armed groups in the Middle East. It is time to introduce a new concept and, probably, a new term." Maybe this should be framed as a question? It's an interesting article.

World Islamic Forum condemns spread of Islamphobia, extremism

ABNA, World Islamic Forum condemns spread of Islamphobia, extremismm 26 May 2016 Section 8 reads: "The Forum also voices its concern over those harboring violent and extremist thoughts abusing the mass media, the Internet, and satellites, resorting to freedom of speech; the Forum, furthermore, condemns any form of discrimination, restriction, or censorship applied against independent media;"

Sunni Shia Splits?

Radio 4, File on 4, Sunni Shia Splits?    "Are international conflicts creating tensions between Sunni and Shia Muslims in the UK?

"Shabnam Mahmood reports from both Sunni and Shia communities and reveals how divisive messages from the Middle East are fuelling intolerance here."

I thought this was a useful programme. There was some content in relation to the role of the internet in promoting diverse agendas (and in some cases discord)

Saudi execution of Shia cleric sparks outrage in Middle East

Guardian, Saudi execution of Shia cleric sparks outrage in Middle East

Sunnis and Shias: What's the story?

BBC, Sunnis and Shias: What's the story? This looks like a useful guide.

Aga Khan on social media

providencejournal.com, Aga Khan, speaking at Brown, sees virtue in social media, Internet, 10 Mar 2014 "Speaking at Brown University on Monday, the Aga Khan — the spiritual leader for some 15 million Shia Ismaili Muslims worldwide — focused on the potential of social media and Internet-based technology to bridge cultural divisions."

Number of Shia Fighters in Syria Could Rise Following Fatwa

VOA, Number of Shia Fighters in Syria Could Rise Following Fatwa, 16 Dec 2013   "How fighters are transported to Syria has become clearer recently with many of the volunteers posting online on Facebook and other social media sites how they got to Syria. Volunteers go to Iran initially and train there before flying to Lebanon from where they are taken into Syria with Hezbollah forces. Many of the fighters in their Internet postings say they were motivated to volunteer for Syria because of their determination to protect Shia shrines."

The Shias: Egypt's forgotten Muslim minority

Zeinab El-Gundy, al-Ahram Online, The Shias: Egypt's forgotten Muslim minority, 18 Mar 2013 " ... anti-Shia sentiment continues to be disseminated via the internet and the media in Egypt. "Just last week, Mohamed Ismail Makdam, founder of the ultra-orthodox Salafist Call, slammed the Muslim Brotherhood for "allowing Shiism in Egypt.""

Kuwaiti tweeter jailed 6 months for insulting Shias

AFP/Tribune, Kuwaiti tweeter jailed 6 months for insulting Shias, 31 May 2012 "Kuwait’s court of appeals Thursday reduced a seven-year jail term of a Sunni tweeter to a six-month imprisonment for allegedly insulting the faith of the Shia minority, his lawyer said."

Afghan shrine blasts

BBC News, Shias targeted in deadly Afghan shrine blasts, 6 Dec 2011 "At least 60 people killed in twin attacks targeting Shia Muslims marking Ashoura in Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif."

Shi'a Muslims Muharram online discourse

The Times of India, Thousands take part in Muharram discourses in city, 1 Dec 2011 "For the Shias, attending Muharram majlis is part of faith and those who cannot be physically present in mosques for majlis either catch the discourses on channels like the World Islamic Network (WIN) TV or on iPhones internet and YouTube."

Shia cleric enters record book for longest sermon

Deccan Herald, Shia cleric enters record book for longest sermon

"Maulana Athar, who retired as principal of Shia College here a decade ago, is popular among the Shias and it was one of their organisations-- Anjuman-e-Imamia which had approached the Limca Books for inclusion of his name. Athar said that he was surprised by his own popularity.

""I was not aware about it till I travelled to Europe, the US and the Middle East... People tell me there that they saw me at my Mumbai congregation on TV, radio and Internet", says the Maulana."

'Battered lives, generous spirit'

Rasheeda Bhagat, The Hindu Business Line, Battered lives, generous spirit "The non-violent demonstrations at Cairo's Tahrir Square by young and savvy Egyptians who used the Internet — particularly social networking sites such as Facebook — to mobilise public opinion to oust Hosni Mubarak, have electrified the Arab world from North Africa to West Asia. Transiting through Bahrain Airport to Najaf, in Iraq, which houses the shrine of Imam Ali — Shia Muslims' second-most important religious leader after Prophet Mohammed, I saw people riveted to Arabic channels telecasting protests in Yemen, Bahrain, Libya and the Tahrir Square in Baghdad. (Now, of course, both Syria and Jordan have joined that list.) The experience was the same at the restaurants and shops in Karbala and Najaf in Iraq, and Damascus in Syria. In fact, at some shops in Damascus, as the Libyan turmoil in its nascent stage was being telecast with heated Arabic commentary, the shopkeeper just shooed us away without even giving us a look. Apparently dreams and prospects of liberty and freedom from oppression mattered more than hard cash!"

opinion: 'Urbanised Islam behind Pakistan's Sufi shrine bombings'

Opinion: Irfan Al-Alawi, Lapido Media [London], Islamicpluralism.org, Urbanised Islam behind Pakistan's Sufi shrine bombings, 15 Mar 2011 "As many analysts have observed, radical Islam is an elite phenomenon reflecting the rising expectations and frustrations of educated people who have no time to learn the complexities of the religion.

"Wahhabi-takfiri practice, which is stripped down and easy to absorb, is more attractive to busy professionals than traditional and Sufi Islam, which calls on the believer to dedicate time to study and other religious works."

Research on aQ

Matthew Reisz, Times Higher, Contravene or intervene?, 6 Jan 2011 "Mina Al-Lami, visiting Fellow in the department of media and communications at the London School of Economics, studies the Arabic-language "media and propaganda of the Islamic extremist groups affiliated or sympathetic to Al-Qaeda, the websites calling for jihad and inciting violence as the only means to achieve their goals and sometimes as an end in itself".

"Although such websites are vicious about Israelis, Americans and Britons, she notes, "increasingly Shias have become the number one enemy. They legitimise the killing of Shias, both combatants and civilians, anywhere and at any time. They see the West as the biggest target but Islamic regimes and those who work for them as easier targets and more reachable.""

'The Shi'a religious parade standard'

BBC Radio 4, A History of the World in 100 Objects - Tolerance and Intolerance - 1. The Shi'a religious parade standard, 28 Sep 2010 "Neil MacGregor's world history as told through things. This week he is exploring the development and co-existence of faiths across the globe around 400 years ago, looking at objects from India and Central America, Europe and Indonesia that embody the political consequences of belief. Today he is with a remarkable object from Shia Iran, that in the 16th Century was open to the co-existence of faiths. The object he has chosen is a symbol of Shia faith, a standard or Alam that was carried at the front of Shia processions. They were often so tall and heavy that they would require great physical strength to handle. Neil visits religious sites in Isfahan to reflect on the spiritual climate of the time. Hossein Pourtahmasbi, from the Iranian community in London and a former alam carrier, describes the tradition. And the Iranian historian Haleh Afshar reflects on the shifting position of Shia Islam within Iran over the centuries."

A 15'00 radio programme, well worth checking out (apparently available to listen again until 2099)

Ayatollah Mohammed-Hussein Fadlallah

A range of coverage relates to Ayatollah Fadlallah's death:

Bayynat, 5 July 2010 (screenshot)

Daily Star, Lebanon mourns loss of Sayyed Fadlallah, 5 Jul 2010 "“Sayyed Fadlallah has died this morning,” senior aide Ayatollah Abdullah al-Ghurayfi told a news conference, flanked by the late cleric’s son, Sayyed Ali Fadlallah.

"“The father, the leader, the marja [religious authority], the guide, the human being is gone,” Ghurayfi said."

LA Times, Babylon & Beyond, Hezbollah spiritual mentor Fadlallah dies at 74, 5 Jul 2010 "His death highlights a vacuum of spiritual leadership within Lebanon’s Shiite community and likely will spur a power struggle within the religious establishment and soul-searching among the faithful."

NYT, Grand Ayatollah Fadlallah, Shiite Cleric, Dies at 75, 4 Jul 2010 "Since the early 1990s, he adopted a more pragmatic tone, preaching against the division between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. He raised money for a sprawling international network of charities and willingly met with prominent Americans, including critics of his beliefs, and considered dialogue with the enemy an Islamic imperative."

For an alternative view, see Con Coughlin, Telegraph, Sheikh Falallah was the terrorist mastermind behind the Lebanon hostage crisis, 5 Jul 2010 "Don’t be fooled by all the tributes that are pouring out following the death in Beirut at the weekend of Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, the so-called spiritual leader of the radical Shi’ite Muslim militia Hizbollah..."

Bayynat have been prominent in placing online the opinions of Ayatollah Fadlallah, as I have discussed in my writings.  

Hawza Project

Details on the Clerical Authority in Shi'i Islam Project, which focuses on the roles of hawza in education and training. Project updates, including future activities, can be obtained via a contact form on the site.

Dawoodi Bohras online

radioaustralianews.net.au, Islam adopts to education on the net "An Islamic sect dating back almost 1,000 years has adopted online technology to support its teaching around the world.

"The Dawoodi Bohras are members of a branch of Islam based in the western Indian state of Gujarat.

"At the well-ordered campus of Al Jamea Tus Saifiyah university, in the ctiy of Surat, teachers use modern technology to help students memorise and recite the holy book, the Koran, and practise making the call to prayer."

I discuss teh Dawoodi Bohras in my work.